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Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in regional models that exclude a Central region. As of July 1, 2007, the estimated population of the 26 states east of the Mississippi (not including the small portions of Minnesota and Louisiana that are east of the river) plus the District of Columbia totals 171,222,291 out of 305,986,357 in the whole nation (including Puerto Rico and insular areas in the US but not in the East), or 55.95% of the U.S. population. The Eastern United States is home to several airlines, including Delta Air Lines in Atlanta, Georgia, AirTran Airways in Orlando, Florida, United Airlines in Chicago, Illinois, Spirit Airlines in Miramar, Florida, and JetBlue Airways in New York, New York. Major airports in the Eastern U.S. include Chicago O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Logan International Airport in Boston, Miami International Airport in Miami, Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Washington-Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit. The Eastern U.S. is also home to Amtrak, a intercity passenger train service provider. The East no longer has a unified culture, due to the vast number of immigrants who flooded the region from the mid-19th century to the present day. The East is composed of three sub-regions: The South, The Midwest, and The Northeast. The South The Southern United States constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States. Because of the region's unique cultural and historic heritage, including Native Americans; early European settlements of English, Scots-Irish, Scottish and German heritage4; importation of hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans; growth of a large proportion of African Americans in the population, reliance on slave labor, and legacy of the Confederacy after the American Civil War, the South developed its own customs, literature, musical styles, and varied cuisines, that have profoundly shaped traditional American culture.The South is one of the most unique and culturally diverse regions of the nation whose culture is deeply rooted in the American Civil War. In the last few decades, the South has become more industrialized and urban, attracting numerous internal and international migrants. The American South is among the fastest-growing areas in the United States. Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, West Virginia and Texas are often known as the South. New England New England is a region of the United States located in the northeastern corner of the country, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.4 In one of the earliest English settlements in the New World, English Pilgrims from Europe first settled in New England in 1620, in the colony of Plymouth. In the late 18th century, the New England colonies would be among the first North American British colonies to demonstrate ambitions of independence from the British Crown, although they would later threaten secession over the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain. New England produced the first pieces of American literature and philosophy and was home to the beginnings of free public education. In the 19th century, it played a prominent role in the movement to abolish slavery in the United States. It was the first region of the United States to be transformed by the Industrial Revolution.5 It is a region with one of the highest levels of support for the Democratic Party in the United States, with the majority of voters in every state voting for the Democrats in the 1992, 1996, 2004, and 2008 Presidential elections, and every state but New Hampshire voting for Al Gore in 2000. Following the 2008 elections, all members of the House of Representatives from New England belong to the Democratic Party. The Mid-West The Midwestern United States (in the U.S. generally referred to as the Midwest) is one of the four geographic regions within the United States of America that are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau. The region consists of twelve states in the central and inland northeastern US: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.1 A 2006 Census Bureau estimate put the population at 66,217,736. Both the geographic center of the contiguous U.S. and the population center of the U.S. are in the Midwest. The United States Census Bureau divides this region into the East North Central States (essentially the Great Lakes States) and the West North Central States. Chicago is the largest city in the region, followed by Detroit and Indianapolis. Chicago has the largest metropolitan statistical area, followed by Detroit, and Minneapolis – Saint Paul. Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan is the oldest city in the region, having been founded by French missionaries and explorers in 1668. The term Midwest has been in common use for over 100 years. Another term sometimes applied to the same general region is "the heartland".3 Other designations for the region have fallen into disuse, such as the "Northwest" or "Old Northwest" (from "Northwest Territory") and "Mid-America". Since the book Middletown appeared in 1929, sociologists have often used Midwestern cities (and the Midwest generally) as "typical" of the entire nation.4 The region has a higher employment-to-population ratio (the percentage of employed people at least 16 years old) than the Northeast, the West, the South, or the Sun Belt states.5 Four of the states associated with the Midwestern United States (Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota) are traditionally referred to as belonging to the Great Plains region. However, in recent years they are often included in the Midwestern region. Major population centers The following is a list of the 23 largest cities in the East in alphabetical order: Image:Midtownatlanta.jpg|Atlanta population: 537,958 Image:Baltimore Harbor from rest.jpg|Baltimore population: 636,919 Image:Bostonstraight.jpg|Boston population: 608,352 Image:Skylinecharlotte2.jpg|Charlotte population: 671,588 Image:2009-09-18 3060x2040 chicago skyline.jpg|Chicago population: 2,836,658 Image:Cincinnati oh skyline.jpg|Cincinnati population: 332,458 Image:Cleveland From The Lake.jpg|Cleveland population: 438,042 Image:Columbus-ohio-skyline-panorama.jpg|Columbus population: 747,755 Image:DetroitSkyline.jpg|Detroit population: 916,952 Image:Downtown indy from parking garage zoom.jpg|Indianapolis population: 829,718 Image:JacksonvilleSkyline.jpg|Jacksonville population: 805,605 Image:LouisvilleNightSkyline2-small.jpg|Louisville population: 557,789 Image:Memphis_skyline_from_the_air.jpg|Memphis population: 674,028 Image:Miamiatnightpink.jpg|Miami population: 424,662 Image:Milwaukee skyline.jpg‎|Milwaukee population: 602,191 Image:Nashville panorama Kaldari 01.jpg|Nashville population: 590,807 Image:Top_of_Rock_Cropped.jpg|New York population: 8,274,527 Image:Philadelphia skyline August 2007.jpg|Philadelphia population: 1,540,351 Image:PittSkyline082904.jpg|Pittsburgh population: 311,218 Image:Downtown-Raleigh-from-Western-Boulevard-Overpass-20081012.jpeg|Raleigh population: 375,806 Image:TampaSkyline.jpg|Tampa population: 340,882 Image:Virginia Beach from Fishing Pier.jpg|Virginia Beach population: 434,743 Image:WashMonument_WhiteHouse.jpg|Washington, D.C. population: 588,292 See also * East Coast of the United States * Eastern Canada Category:Regions of the United States